Flax seed / Alsi / Jawas Chutney

Flax Seeds are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, antioxidants, anti-cancerous. Good for diabetics, heart health.   

This spicy flax seed chutney gives a nice taste to your meal. You can eat it with bread, chapattis, parathas, thepla, cheela, idli or dosa. Also can be added to salads, koshimbir, curd rice etc. Its authentic yummy and versatile chutney to have.

Coconut Chutney Recipe

This coconut chutney is very easy and quick and made from fresh grated coconut. This chutney goes very well with idli, dosa and medu vada.  

Smooth Hummus Recipe

This is simple homemade hummus recipe with tahini. Tahini is paste made from ground, hulled sesame seeds used in North African, Greek, Turkish, and Middle Eastern cuisine.

Making perfect hummus is adding ingredients in sequence to food processor. First tahini and lemon juice goes in food processor, then oil garlic and finally chickpeas with some water. That's it, sound easy? Yes it is.. :)

Creamy Hazelnut Butter

Instead of buying Nutella with loaded of sugar this one is easiest butter recipe anyone can make at home. With this DIY butter recipe you can make any nut butter, make yourself delicious almond butter, macadamia butter, peanut butter, walnut_almond butter and list goes on.

Chili Garlic Paste

Chili Garlic paste is a basic element for any kitchen. Use of different chilies give different unique flavors. I prepare chili paste with different chilies like green chilies, fresh red chilies, dried red chilies and even red chili powder. Make a paste ahead of time, store in the refrigerator upto 3-4 weeks and use it whenever required.

Peanut Chutney

Tomato Chutney

This tomato chutney goes well dosa, idli. Use as a spread with some cheese to make spicy tomato cheese sandwich. Even can be added to curries to enhance taste and just spread on chapati/roti and roll to make out instant snack, many more.

Zhanzhanit Kolhapuri Thecha

Zhanzhanit means extra spicy in Marathi. This word is an exclusively used for

chili preparations.Thecha is a chutney prepared from green chillies and garlic for which this adjective suits perfectly!

Thecha word means basically a process of of pounding ingredients to make chutney. There are many different types of chilies worldwide. Chilies used for this Thecha should be medium spicy in taste and in shape should be slightly bigger and long than normal green chilies, you will get from the image bellow. While serving add a bit of oil as this reduces spiciness a bit and it will taste heavenly.

Serve: 4-5

Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

2-3 Green long chillies
5-6 cloves of Garlic
1 medium Onions(chopped in cubes)
2 tbsp coriander finely chopped

1 tsp cumin seeds
Salt
Oil

Method:

1) Remove the heads of chillies.
2) In a skillet, take 1/2 tsp Oil, on medium low flame and add cumin seeds, chillies, chopped onions and garlic to it
3) Roast them uniformly on all sides till you see brown black spots over them
4) When done, pound these along with coriander and salt as required using a mortar pestle (blender will do, but mortar pestle works best)
5) Add a bit of oil while serving(this will reduce the spiciness a bit).
6) Serve with bhakris!

Perfect Guacamole!

Serves 2-4.
Time: 5 Minutes

Ingredients:

1 ripe hass avocado
1-2 Tbsp fresh cilantro leaves (finely chopped) 
1 small chili/jalapeno pepper (finely chopped) (as per taste)
1 Tbsp lime juice (juice of half lemon)
1 tomato(finely chopped)
1 onion (finely chopped)
salt to taste

Method:
1.Cut the avocado in half lengthwise around the seed. Remove seed. Scoop the flesh into a mixing bowl.

2. Using a fork, mash the avocado. Add the chopped onion, cilantro, chile pepper, lime or lemon juice, salt. Chili peppers vary individually in their hotness. So, start with a half of one chili pepper and add to the guacamole to your desired degree of hotness. 

3. Place the mixture in a food processor or blender, and pulse to the desired consistency. If you like coarse texture then just mix well using fork.

4. Serve with chips, tortillas.

Note:
1. Choose avocados with unblemished skin.Pick up an avocado and make sure it feels heavy.Press on the avocado, making sure it is soft enough to yield under your finger but not soft enough to leave a mark.Make sure a Florida avocado is green with a yellow tone. A Hass avocado from California should be purplish black.

2. Be careful handling the peppers; wash your hands thoroughly after handling and do not touch your eyes or the area near your eyes with your hands for several hours.

3. Before storing leftover guacamole, cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the guacamole to prevent oxidation from the air reaching it. Refrigerate.

Red Bell Pepper Chutney

First time I tasted this chutney at my friends house on the occasion of Laxmi vrat puja, Auntie made chutney so delicious. I was so eager to try it out.This is quick and easy to make and can be served as dip with tortillas, chutney for chapatis, dosa, idly, rice and spread for bread as you like.

Last weekend, we invited our(Raj's) friends for Lunch. For a lovely couple like this, with whom I and my husband really love to spend our time, I had to take utmost care in preparing the food to their likes. So whats the menu. So many dishes are lingering in my mind. Finally I decided on the menu. Starting with Tortillas and Red Bell pepper chutney,Chicken tikkas( Will soon post for this) and then Kolhapuri chicken curry, Kolhapuri pandhara Rassa, Fish Fry, Chapaties and Jeera Rice. Lastly Gajar Halwa sweet dish for sweet couples:-).

Good music, engrossing chit chats and the warmth of friends is the quintessential core of perfect entertaining on a superb weekend.I was glad that they enjoyed each of the dishes.

Ingredients:

2 big red bell peppers
1 medium sized onion
3-4 dried red chillies
2 garlic cloves
3-4 tsp roasted peanuts
Small Lime sized tamarind soaked in warm water for 10 minutes
1 tsp of powdered jaggery
salt to taste

Method:

1. Cut to big chunks bell pepper onion chilies garlic cloves

2. Heat about 1 to 2 tablespoons of peanut oil in a skillet.

3. Add and roast the cut vegetables and dried red chillies on high heat. The vegetables should be very well browned and soft. Remove them from heat and allow to cool.

4. Blend roasted vegetables, Tamarind, along with the water it soaked in,roasted peanuts, jaggery and salt to fine paste.

5. Serve with your favorite breakfast/lunch/supper items.

Cranberry Chutney

Cranberry Chutney...??? Gosh.. how does it taste pungent,tart..?

Give it a try and have with chapaties. Tart hot sweet pungent.. something different!

Serve: About 1 Cup

Time:10 Minutes

Ingredients:

1 tsp oil

1 Cup fresh Cranberries
1/2 Cup orange juice

2 tsp Sesame seeds
1 Cup onion, cut into pieces
1-2 Dried red chilli(as per preference)
2-3 Garlic chopped

1/4 Cup peanuts

3 tablespoon Jaggery, crushed
Salt ( to taste)

Method:

1. Toast sesame seeds to fragrance in flat non stick pan.

2. In the same pan add oil. Add one by one garlic, peanuts, next onions, next dried red chilli pieces, roast to pale brown. Then cranberries, orange juice.

3. Continue roasting and when cranberries start to collapse, turn off the heat. Keep aside to cool.

4. In blender take roasted sesame seeds, cooked cranberry mixture, jaggery and salt. Blend to fine paste.

5. Serve with rice, chapati or bread.